Dean Pettigrew

Yeah, that's a huge question. And I think it's one that the field struggles with quite a bit. As Stanton mentioned earlier, You don't see public health when it's functioning well. And we work to prevent disease. So all those things that are prevented that don't get you into the hospital, people don't see them. I also think one of the challenges is that the field is so broad.

Yeah, that's a huge question. And I think it's one that the field struggles with quite a bit. As Stanton mentioned earlier, You don't see public health when it's functioning well. And we work to prevent disease. So all those things that are prevented that don't get you into the hospital, people don't see them. I also think one of the challenges is that the field is so broad.

Public health touches so many different things. And so when you do that, it's a little bit of everything everywhere all at once. And so I think we even as a field have trouble articulating what public health does. I think the pandemic was a little helpful actually in helping the public understand. You started hearing terms like epidemiologists are not flattening the curve.

Public health touches so many different things. And so when you do that, it's a little bit of everything everywhere all at once. And so I think we even as a field have trouble articulating what public health does. I think the pandemic was a little helpful actually in helping the public understand. You started hearing terms like epidemiologists are not flattening the curve.

And it was a real opportunity for us to engage more with the community because they were hearing these words, they were seeing the social determinants of health play out in action. And so I think that pandemic helped folks understand what public health is.

And it was a real opportunity for us to engage more with the community because they were hearing these words, they were seeing the social determinants of health play out in action. And so I think that pandemic helped folks understand what public health is.

I also think the downside of that was there was a loss of trust and we missed an opportunity, I think, to really define who we are and to improve coordination.

I also think the downside of that was there was a loss of trust and we missed an opportunity, I think, to really define who we are and to improve coordination.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's a general need in society for public health education, knowledge, and content. I think public health really teaches us to engage with society and to view the world and address its challenges through this public health lens, which is so important. It links to all the other health sciences and other professions, but it does stand apart in some key ways.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's a general need in society for public health education, knowledge, and content. I think public health really teaches us to engage with society and to view the world and address its challenges through this public health lens, which is so important. It links to all the other health sciences and other professions, but it does stand apart in some key ways.

So we really prioritize prevention. We prioritize populations over the individual and we prioritize multi-level partnerships. And so being able to look at the world, to engage, to attract people who wanna leave the place better than they found it, I think is really good in general for society and especially in the undergraduate space. We teach students to identify problems, risk factors,

So we really prioritize prevention. We prioritize populations over the individual and we prioritize multi-level partnerships. And so being able to look at the world, to engage, to attract people who wanna leave the place better than they found it, I think is really good in general for society and especially in the undergraduate space. We teach students to identify problems, risk factors,

introduce prevention measures to assess interventions and determine whether they're working and not and the impact on health. And we are short about 80,000 full-time positions in the field of public health just to get back to those pre-pandemic levels. And so there's a real need for people with training in this area and that's where the undergraduate space can help.

introduce prevention measures to assess interventions and determine whether they're working and not and the impact on health. And we are short about 80,000 full-time positions in the field of public health just to get back to those pre-pandemic levels. And so there's a real need for people with training in this area and that's where the undergraduate space can help.

So we have a new undergraduate program that just started last year at the School of Public Health. And there's many different ways for undergrads to get involved. There's undergraduate public health degrees, there's undergraduate minors that can just expose you to that general way of thinking. And there's also been a rise in accredited programs, bachelor degrees in public health.

So we have a new undergraduate program that just started last year at the School of Public Health. And there's many different ways for undergrads to get involved. There's undergraduate public health degrees, there's undergraduate minors that can just expose you to that general way of thinking. And there's also been a rise in accredited programs, bachelor degrees in public health.

And so it's really valuable in multiple, multiple fronts. And even we want everybody to go into public health, there's again, a huge workforce shortage. But even if you don't choose a career that's directly public health, having that community, societal lens, I think makes us better citizens in general.

And so it's really valuable in multiple, multiple fronts. And even we want everybody to go into public health, there's again, a huge workforce shortage. But even if you don't choose a career that's directly public health, having that community, societal lens, I think makes us better citizens in general.

Yeah, that's a place where I think we need to do a little bit more work and be a little cautious. In other fields, we've seen this when you start bringing undergraduates in, sometimes they start getting positions that are previously held by masters, people with master's degrees or higher level degrees.

Yeah, that's a place where I think we need to do a little bit more work and be a little cautious. In other fields, we've seen this when you start bringing undergraduates in, sometimes they start getting positions that are previously held by masters, people with master's degrees or higher level degrees.